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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · chest · pit · rule · kick · lie · hand · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pit — a hole
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — government
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kick — in football
  9. hand — help
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. rule — a law
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pit — in a race
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com